The Rinnegan Returns
by Akuma u oka
Summary: An orphan, found on the brink of death near the corpses of his mother and several Uchiha assassins outside Konoha, and adopted by the third Hokage against the wishes of the Council becomes the center of a new threat that looms over the village Hidden in the Leaves, threatening to destroy the peaceful Konoha once and for all.
1. Enter: Minoru Yamato!

The warm summer air was tainted with smoke, and roar of fire and of battle drowned out almost all other noises. However, an infant's wail rose above the noise and could be heard throughout the village as an enormous shockwave rent the ground and sent up an enormous dust cloud, obscuring even the moon from view.

Two figures ran desperately down a deserted street, their feet pounding into the soft dirt of the path with an almost desperate sound. As the two darted into a side alleyway, one figure lingered in the entrance, staring into the roaring fire, his red eyes reflecting the carnage that he beheld.

"I'm so sorry…" The man said softly to the warm wind as it gently brushed his black hair in front of his eyes from which warm, salty tears fell, staining his ash-covered cheeks. The man turned into the darkness of the alleyway and disappeared into the safety of the shadows as the fire engulfed the street where he had stood only seconds before.

As the man and the woman raced out of the alleyway, burnt clothing streaming behind them, footsteps resounding in the quiet air. Ahead of them was the looming, wooden village gate, painted with ash from the fires that were roaring behind the two as the panted and coughed to a halt as they stood in front of it.

"We're almost safe," the man said with a small, sad smile as he looked back at the burning village. The woman next to him nodded her assent silently, unable to speak through the sadness and panic that gripped her heart.

As the two began to run again, a shadowed figure stepped out from behind the gate, clapping softly, his piercing, harsh red eyes shining through the darkness and shadow of the night.

"Bravo Kiyoshi, my brother… But did you really think you would be able to hide from the wrath of the Uchiha forever?" The man said as he strode into the dim flickering light cast by the fire from the burning village behind them.

Kiyoshi stepped in front of the woman instinctively, his ash-and-tear-stained face bared in a snarl.

"Your fight is with me Kazuya, _my_ _brother_." He said, spiting the last word with contempt, and he turned whispering softly to the woman standing next to him who nodded tearfully and ran with the bundle in her arms away from the two men, tears tracing lines on her ash-stained cheeks as the fire roared.

Kazuya lunged at her with an enraged roar, his hands forming the fateful seals, but Kiyoshi barreled into him, sending him to the dust, but even as he did this, he felt his body explode in pain, seeing a bloodstained, sword protruding from his chest and hearing the telltale pop of a shadow clone dissipating into smoke. As a final tear rolled down Kiyoshi's cheek, the blade twisted forcefully, and Kazuya Uchiha's red eyes saw no more…

As dust rose and fell, Kazuya roared in anguish, clutching his face, his nails digging into his face, leaving deep, slashes as his eyes burned savagely. Kazuya roared again, but as his voice trailed off into the darkness, he opened his eyes once more, which now burned with an even darker light; falling to his knees, Kazuya exhaled, a savage sneer stretching across his face as he grabbed ahold of his brothers glassy, sightless eyes. Blood spurted from Kiyoshi's empty sockets as Kazuya wrenched his lifeless eyes from his corpse, holding them up to the harsh flickering light of the fire, roaring with insane laughter as he looked at the red orbs in his hands.

"Do not let the Senju woman escape!" Kazuya Uchiha roared as several masked figures appeared beside him, and nodding their assent, flitted out of sight.

Kazuya turned to the corpse of his brother with a distasteful sneer upon his lips, and spat onto the ground next to Kiyoshi's motionless body. Wrenching his bloodstained sword free, Kazuya turned away from the body on the ground, leaving it to be swallowed by the flames of the burning village as he walked into the darkness of the night.

The woman stumbled through the forest, a line of crimson blood dripping down her chin, hitting the soft bundle of cloth and leaving streaks of red in he fabric. The warm night air was free of the roaring of the fire, and as the woman fell onto the worn dirt path in front of two green wooden gates, she whispered words of comfort to the wailing bundle, turning to look at the twisted bloodstained roots protruding from the ground, which had impaled her pursuers.

"Grow up to be a strong and brave shinobi like your father, Minoru." The woman said with a bright, tear-stained smile on her face, before she coughed crimson blood onto her hands, and fell forward next to her son, the five kunai embedded in her back were stained with her blood as she shuddered and was still…

* * *

Minoru Yamato sprinted through the sunbathed streets of Konoha, his eyes set in a determined glare as he skidded around a corner, almost toppling an elderly lady who was laden with groceries. Yelling an apology to her as he ran down a cool, quiet pathway, shaded by trees and strewn with leaves, Minoru slowed to a walk as a large tree and well-known building came into sight. As Minoru approached the building, where a small crowd had gathered around the large, shady tree, he could hear the familiar voice of Iruka-sensei as he congratulated the new Genins on their accomplishment. Minoru sighed and jogged over to Iruka-sensei, who was now leaning against the solid trunk of the tree, looking exhausted. When the spiky-haired Chuunin saw Minoru approaching, he smiled tiredly and twirled a last polished, metal headband with the Leaf Village's insignia engraved into the metal around his finger.

"We all thought you'd forgot that you graduated today," Iruka-sensei said with a laugh as he handed Minoru the headband and patted his head," you earned it, buddy."

As Iruka-sensei was whisked away by another parent, Minoru silently admired the artifact that identified him as a Shinobi of the Leaf, reverently holding it in his hands. With a glow of happiness, Minoru attempted to find a friend to talk to, but looking around the small crowd, all he could see were his classmates being happily embraced by their parents, a feeling he had never experienced. The feeling of his accomplishment diminished, he walked away, a gentle breeze brushing his face as he left the Academy behind and began to walk down the main streets of Konoha, a warm summer sun beating down on his back.

The soft worn dirt path left a trail of his wandering footsteps as Minoru went from stall to stall, eying the many varieties of food that his pocket money couldn't buy, but mostly looking for congratulations on his new headband from the shopkeepers, who knew him well from countless visits.

Feeling slightly dejected after visiting his regular haunts and not receiving any remarks on his headband, Minoru began the long walk home as the final rays of sunlight brushed the buildings of Konoha before fading into starlight. As Minoru sighed once more, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look into the grinning face of a whiskered boy whom Minoru knew well.

"Naruto!" Minoru said with happily giving his friend a gentle shove.

"Hey Minoru!" Naruto said, laughing and flicking Minoru's headband." Iruka-sensei told me you'd graduated today so I came to congratulate you! So, how 'bout a celebration at Ichiraku's?"

Minoru laughed happily and nodded his assent, grinning widely as Naruto began to tell him about all of his adventures off fighting powerful Shinobi.

As night fell and the street lights in the road below began to flicker to life, a shadowed figure stood atop a building, watching Minoru and Naruto as they approached the Ramen stand with minor interest shown in his bright red eyes before turning and dissipating into the darkness.

* * *

**Thanks for reading the story, and I hope you enjoyed it! Please review as I need the feedback and constructive criticism because this is my first Naruto Fanfiction.**


	2. The Council's Concerns

A warm ray of sunlight streamed in through the large window next to Iruka-sensei's desk, hitting the dusty chalkboard and reflecting off of the polished wood of the empty desk. Nervous chatter filled the air as the multitude of students conversed anxiously about what would happen to them as Genins. Minoru sighed and looked around the classroom for something to hold his attention until Iruka arrived, but finding nothing, he settled for spinning a shuriken around his finger.

Glancing over to his right, he spotted Rin Tsuki, sitting back in her desk with her arms folded across her chest, blowing a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes, a sight that would make most of the boys in the class swoon, but Minoru just groaned, hoping that the stuck-up girl woud not be anywhere near him for Genin training. Rin was the best student in the class and was from a reputable Shinobi family, but this only made Minoru dislike her even more. Suddenly Ruigi Hyuuga, a member of one of the Hyuuga branch families walked nervously over to her, and attempted to sit in the chair next to her, his cheeks bright red.

A loud crash rose above the chatter, replacing it with a tense silence broken only by the groans of Ruigi as he stood up, rubbing his backside and looking around for the chair he had missed when trying to sit down. Nervous laughter rang throughout the room, suddenly silenced by the sliding door opening and Iruka striding into the classroom, holding a clipboard.

"Alright class, settle down, settle down, back to your seats." Iruka said exasperatedly, but with a small smile betraying his attempt to be forceful as usual.

Ruigi stumbled into the seat next to Minoru, who was still laughing silently at his friends utter failure. Ruigi groaned and put his head down on the desk, while Minoru tried to calm himself before Iruka yelled at him, but one look at Rin's fearsome expression sent him into hysterics again.

"Minoru! Please be quiet, we only have a short class today before you separate into groups of three and begin your Genin training under a Jounin instructor, so please listen so I don't have to repeat myself!" Iruka said, raising his voice so the entire class could hear him.

"Alright, Team one…"

Minoru's mind drifted as he looked around the room, hearing the names called and crossing them off a list he was trying to keep track of.

…_I wonder if Ruigi'll be with me for training, might be fun…Just hope Rin isn't on my team… _Minoru thought to himself as his head drooped, waiting for the endless naming to cease, or for something interesting to break the boredom that gripped the room.

"…Team 13! Minoru Yamato!" Minoru's head shot up, looking around the room, waiting anxiously for his teammates names to be called.

"Rin Tsuki! And…"

Minoru sagged his head, groaning loudly while gripping his dark-brown hair with his hands. Having to deal with Rin was not something on Minoru's list of must-do's, and standing her for however long Genin training was would be a real challenge.

"Ruigi Hyuuga! Alright, that's all, class dismissed. Go have lunch, you bunch of hooligans." Iruka said, sinking into his desk chair, relieved that it was finally over, but dreading the fact that he'd have to start the whole process over again soon.

As most of the class hurried out of the door, lunches in hand, chatting excitedly with their new teammates about who they thought might be their instructor, and the various strengths and weaknesses of their team. After a few minutes, all of the students save those on Team 13 had departed the classroom to eat lunch with their squad.

As Minoru turned to look at his new team, he groaned inwardly again at the prospect of having to spend Genin training with Rin, as she was the top student and the most pretentious girl Minoru had ever met, and she looking at her teammates with distaste, Minoru could see she felt the same way. Glancing over at Ruigi, Minoru rolled his eyes in exasperation as the Hyuuga was still gawking at Rin, his mouth slightly open; giving him a gentle smack on the head, Minoru decided to break the ice.

"So… I guess we're all on the same team." Minoru said with a wincing smile, realizing how awkward he sounded.

"What tipped you off, genius?" Rin drawled, opening a well-prepared bento box with delicious-looking food.

Minoru opened a packet of cold Ramen which Naruto had given him for a Congratulations gift the previous night, and began to eat while noticing the Ruigi was still glancing over at Rin every half second, as if to make sure she were still there and not an apparition that would fade at any minute. While Minoru ate, he silently judged his teammates.

Minoru had known Rin ever since the first day at the academy, and even with other children from powerful families, Rin had managed to surprise the entire class with her prodigious display of the Transformation Jutsu, on their first day, before class had even begun. After her display, Rin had been praised copiously by teachers and parents alike, and would have been unpopular if it weren't for her looks entrapping most of the other boys, like the unfortunate Ruigi.

Ruigi had been one of Minoru's first close friends from his early days at the academy, but despite being a Hyuuga, he was at the bottom of the class, barely scraping through exams to become a Genin; even Naruto said he was slow.

Minoru ate the last noodle and slurped the cold ramen water at the bottom of the bowl before walking down the steps and tossing it into the grey trash can by the door. As Minoru walked back up the steps toward his teammates, who were still eating their lunch silently he decided to try to break the ice one more time.

"Well, if we're going to be a team," Minoru said, sitting down on the edge of Rin's desk, earning him a very hostile glare that he chose to ignore," we should probably learn more about each other, don't you think?

"Yeah, I think that sounds pretty fun! Right, Rin?" Ruigi said enthusiastically, looking at Rin with a huge smile plastered on his face.

"No, it doesn't sound like fun. Look, since I'm obviously the leader, I think we should follow my lead, not yours, Minoru." Rin said, closing up her half-eaten bento neatly and placing it carefully back into a her bag." Just leave me alone until our Jounin instructor comes."

Minoru rolled his eyes at his pretentious teammate and walked back over to his seat next to Ruigi, who had now finished his lunch and was resuming his discreet glances at Rin. After ten minutes of near silence, the buzz of conversation filled the room as the teams trickled back in through the door, still chattering about what Genin training would be like. Once all of the students had filed back into the room, and Iruka had quieted all of them and ushered them back to their seats, a loud series of pops resounded through the room, and smoke obscured the bottom platform from view.

Twelve Jounin stood in various places on the platform, their shadowed forms barely visible through the smoke; before the grey smog had even cleared, the Jounin began to call for their teams, and the squads called hurriedly rushed to their new Jounin instructors who promptly led them out of the door.

* * *

The Council of Elders sat facing Tsunade, stone-faced and quiet; Tsunade bit her thumb in apprehension, wondering why the council had requested a meeting out of the blue, was it to discuss Naruto once more?

"Tsunade," Homura began, his gravelly voice level," We believe that the child, Minoru Yamato, I believe his name is, should not be trained as a Shinobi until… The present situation with the Akatsuki has been resolved. It would be best not to take on too many uncalculated risks, and with the child's… _history_, it might be best to wait."

Tsunade seemed impassive to the two elders sitting opposite to her as she thought quietly, mulling over the concern that Homura had just voiced. It was true, strange circumstances had surrounded the boy's arrival to Konoha, the Third Hokage's report had described a bloodbath surrounding the wailing infant when the morning patrol had found him lying beside a woman, presumably his mother with five dead Uchiha clan members, killed with Wood-Release, no less…

Tsunade frowned, biting her thumb as she considered the facts of the matter, but the cold hard truth was that the village needed trained Shinobi, even Genin, desperately if it was to keep up it's appearance of strength.

"I understand your point, Homura," Tsunade said slowly, thinking carefully about what she said." But the village needs trained Shinobi, desperately. Projecting weakness, especially now, when we're at war with the Akatsuki, is an open invitation for the other hidden villages to attack us. We need as many trained Genin as possible-"

Koharu, whose wrinkled face tightened visibly at the mention of the village's war with the Akatsuki, cut Tsunade off.

"So you're saying that we should just let the boy be trained with the secrets of the leaf village? He could be under a memory-concealing Jutsu like the snake-in-the-grass Kabuto was! What about the seal on his back?" Koharu said vehemently as her already half-closed eyes narrowed even further.

"Koharu-" Homura began, but was silenced by a hand from Tsunade.

"I understand your point, Koharu." Tsunade said, raising a hand and snapping her fingers, a loud crisp not resounded through the room followed by the audible _pop_ and cloud of smoke as a masked ANBU member knelt in front of Tsunade." But the need for new Genins is a priority; however, as a compromise, an ANBU member shall act as their Jounin instructor."

Koharu's face relaxed a tiny bit before nodding slightly, and asking a question that Tsunade had not dared ask herself.

"And what if the child _does_ prove to be dangerous?" Koharu asked quietly, cocking her head slightly as she listened for the fifth Hokage's answer.

"He would be-" Tsunade hesitated thinking about the prospect of executing a child.

"Killed."

"So that is my mission." The ANBU member stated, his voice muffled by his dog-shaped mask.

"Yes." Tsunade said, her voice regaining it's usual volume." Your mission is to train the three Genin and to keep an eye on Minoru Yamato. On this mission you will operate under the name of Shigeru. You may remove your mask."

Shigeru stood up slowly, extending his body to it's full height, a couple inches taller than Tsunade, and delicately removed his mask, revealing a young man with lengthy black hair that framed his pale face. As Shigeru disappeared in a flash of smoke with and audible _pop_, the council stood up to depart, leaving Tsunade with her thoughts.

* * *

As Minoru and Ruigi lounged about in their chairs with their feet on the desk, Rin was still staring down at Iruka-sensei's empty desk with her hands folded under her chin. She gave a distasteful snort, and turned to sneer at the two boys who had begun to shove each other, culminating with Ruigi landing on the floor once again.

Suddenly, with a resounding _pop_, a cloud of smoke appeared on the platform at the base of the classroom. Rin snapped to her feet, hand on her equipment pouch, ready to grab a shuriken if necessary; Minoru and Ruigi, however, took more a more peaceable approach to the smoke cloud, standing up and walking towards it curiously. As the cloud dissipated slowly, it revealed a man with long black hair framing his face, chewing on a green plant stem as he dusted off his green vest.

"Mornin'!" The man said brightly as Rin relaxed and began to walk down the steps towards the man." I'm Shigeru, and well… I'm your instructor."

Shigeru smiled sheepishly and looked around at the three, objectively analyzing their reactions to his carefree in a fraction of a second. Minoru merely shrugged with complacency, Rin's eyes narrowed in disbelief, and Ruigi just looked at him with an absent-minded curiosity.

"Well, sorry for being so late, I had to speak to the Hokage about-" Shigeru began, resuming his carefree attitude, before being interrupted.

"Wow, you know the Hokage?" Ruigi said loudly, his curiosity overcoming his attempt at listening, his lilac eyes shining eagerly.

Shigeru paused to stare at Ruigi; the Hokage had briefed him on the mission before meeting with the elders, planning on calling him from the beginning, and had described Minoru's teammate Ruigi the class' worst pupil, despite being a Hyuuga, but he hadn't thought he'd be this slow.

"…Yes…" Shigeru said slowly, before resuming his apology." Anyways, I just had to-"

"That is _so_ cool!" Ruigi said excitedly, before quailing under a draconian glare from Shigeru.

"Anyways," Shigeru started again, still glaring at Ruigi before continuing." Before we start, I think we should get to know each other a little bit better."

"What do you mean…?" Minoru said, squinting at Shigeru with mild cynicism." Like the stuff we did when we first started at the academy? You know we've known each othe-"

Minoru's voice trailed off as he quailed under another glare from Shigeru who paused before continuing.

"Well, I don't know any of you yet," Shigeru said somewhat truthfully; while he did know about Ruigi and Rin, Tsunade's files on Minoru had only been grades and conduct reports, nothing that would give him insight into what kind of person he was." So, just tell me who you are; you know, what you like, what you hate, hobbies, your dreams for the future… stuff like that."

As Ruigi opened his mouth to most likely ask Shigeru to explain what he meant, the black-haired ANBU member, held a finger in front of Ruigi's face to silence him before pointing at Minoru.

"You over there, go first."

"Uhh… I'm Minoru."

Minoru groaned inwardly at his intelligent response before saying the first things that came to mind.

"Well, I guess I like listening to my friend's stories at Ichiraku's Ramen." He said with a smile, thinking of the previous night, and glancing at Shigeru who looked back expectantly.

Racking his brain, Minoru tired to think of something he hated, and almost immediately a certain incident popped into his head, and Minoru gritted his teeth as he glanced over at Rin, who was smirking smugly at him from behind Shigeru, who was still holding a finger to Ruigi's mouth.

"I _hate,_" Minoru said, smirking as he looked back at Rin," Stuck-up, arrogant people who think that they're better than everybody else."

Rin glowered back at Minoru, eliciting a smile from the latter and a dull look from Ruigi.

"I guess my hobbies are… Playing Ninja and training with shuriken…" Continued Minoru hesitating as he saw Shigeru's eyes narrow in interest as he spoke.

"That leaves your dreams for the future." Shigeru said, his anticipation overcoming his attempt at a calm demeanor.

Minoru paused; this was the only answer that he had know since the beginning, but unlike Naruto, who would tell his dream to a tree he was practicing on, Minoru was more reserved about revealing something that he held dearly.

"My dream is… To become the most powerful Shinobi warrior, so that I can bring peace to the world."

Shigeru's eyes widened in surprise; he had expected something more sinister from somebody the Hokage had commanded him o watch over, not so… innocent. But Mind-Concealing Jutsu could be extremely powerful if cast by somebody a powerful Shinobi, so his dream for the future would not really be affected if that was the case.

Shigeru sighed, trying to decide who to have introduce themselves next; truth be told, he was not particularly interested in either of their hopes and dreams as the two other Genins were secondary to his mission to watch over Minoru, but he needed to keep up his appearance as a normal Jounin instructor.

"Alright, you can go next." Shigeru said cheerily, pointing at Rin, still keeping his hand in front of the scowling Ruigi's face.

"Alright, Sensei." Rin said, barely pausing before launching into her introduction." I'm Rin Tsuki, and I _like_ being the best."

Rin paused in her introduction to give a smug grin to Minoru, who rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"I _hate_ sore losers."

Minoru gritted his teeth and scowled darkly at the ground, trying to calm himself by closing his eyes and breathing deeply.

"And my hobbies are studying new Jutsu, and training with my father." Rin said, pausing slightly before finishing her monologue that had lasted far too long in Minoru's opinion." And my dream is to become the head of my family."

Shigeru nodded with a smile on his face, though he had only half listened in anticipation of what Ruigi would have to say.

"Alright, Ruigi, you can talk now, but be careful what you say." Shigeru said seriously as he squinted at the small Hyuuga.

"Geez, finally." Ruigi said exasperatedly, before straightening up at a glare from Shigeru." Uh, I mean, thanks Sensei."

"Yes…" Shigeru said through gritted teeth; this kid was really testing his patience.

"Oh right, introducing myself. Well, I'm Ruigi Hyuuga, and I like, well…" Ruigi said with a smile." Blondes."

Shigeru's head drooped; how was he going to stand this kid? It had only been ten minutes and he was already sick of him.

"I hate getting yelled at by my mom for being bad at grades, and…" Ruigi looked down, slightly abashed." And getting teased by the other Hyuugas for being weak."

Shigeru sighed and resisted the urge to shake his head before nodding at Ruigi to continue.

"Well my hobbies are trying out different foods at the market, and my dream is…" Ruigi hesitated, as if contemplating making a dream up before looking up at Shigeru with a blank look." And to have my name next to my fathers on the Konoha memorial stone in the park."

The three looked at Ruigi, stunned by what they had just heard. Shigeru cleared his throat uncomfortably before speaking to avoid the silence that would follow if he didn't.

"Alright Squad 13, that's all for today." Shigeru said, looking at their slightly surprised faces before continuing." Meet me next to the memorial stone tomorrow morning, we have one final thing to do."

Minoru and Ruigi looked at each other confusedly, and Ruigi spoke up.

"What are we doing?" The Hyuuga said, his lilac eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Well," Shigeru said with a knowing smile." Even though we need Genin, we can't have all of you getting killed on your first mission, so we've got to see if you're up to being a Shinobi."

The three gaped at Shigeru; their mouths open in surprise.

"Woah, wait a second; so the academy exam didn't mean anything?" Minoru said, not believing what he was hearing.

"Not quite. It was to see if you were even qualified to become Genin." Shigeru said, smiling despite himself at the dumbfounded looks on their faces.

"Tomorrow is your final exam to see if you'll be able to become Genin," Shigeru said, smirking widely.

"Or be dropped from the academy for good."

* * *

**Thanks for reading the second chapter! Once again, please review as it would help me improve the story and to attract new readers! Anyways, if you have any comments, concerns, questions, etc. just let me know in a PM, and I'll try to have the third chapter out as soon as possible. **

**-Akuma out**


	3. The Genin Exam Begins!

The cool, damp air of the summer morning was heavy with dew, and the rumble of thunder in the distance. As Minoru walked silently towards the memorial stone, the first droplets of rain began to fall from the steel-grey wall of clouds hanging low above the village Hidden in the Leaves.

Another rumble of thunder rolled through the air like a drum beat, shaking Minoru from his daydreams as he sat on the cold stone of the Memorial stone, running his fingers over the letters.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen…" Minoru murmured with a sad smile, thinking of the kind old man who had adopted him into the village as a kin of the Leaf.

Sighing deeply as a wave of sorrow washed over him, Minoru looked around the deserted park for something to distract him from the wall of names behind him; as his coal-black eyes flitted around the wide open park, he could see the green grass swaying gently in the cool summer breeze that swept through the park.

A sudden crack rent the calm silence, and Minoru craned his neck to see the cause of the disturbance, only to see that it was Rin Tsuki, striding across the swaying grass towards the memorial monolith.

Resting his chin on his knee, Minoru turned back to the peaceful, calm park in front of him, praying that Shigeru would arrive soon so he could get the mission over with. As Minoru thought back on the previous afternoon, he frowned in confusion at his remembrance of Shigeru's words.

* * *

"_Or be dropped from the academy for good."_

_As the three Genins' eyes widened in surprise, Shigeru smiled brightly, placing the green stem back into his mouth and resumed chewing on it._

"_Like I said, despite the villages desperate need for Shinobi, we can't have you dying on your first C-rank mission, so the Hokage has given the Jounin a new exam format, which includes dropping the failures from the academy as to avoid unnecessary deaths."_

_Minoru's eyes narrowed at Shigeru's words; he had remembered Naruto describing something similar that _his_ sensei had said, so was this one of the deceptions that he as a Shinobi should see through?_

"_Well, if it's pass-or-fail, you should at least tell us what it is so that we at least have a chance of passing." Minoru said slowly, trying to see through the imperturbable mask of Shigeru's emotionless face._

"_I suppose that telling you isn't against the rules…" Shigure said with a slight smile, seeing Minoru's attempt to see through him immediately._

Definitely an interesting one this boy… And that Rin Tsuki as well. _Shigure thought to himself before continuing._

"_The exam will be… a Survival test." Shigeru said with a small smile across his lips, watching each of the Genins' faces for a reaction._

_Minoru's eyes narrowed in confusion, as he glanced at Rin and Ruigi, who seemed to be at a loss for what that meant. Before Minoru opened his mouth to ask, Shigeru continued._

"_You see that mountain over there?" Shigeru asked, pointing out the window to a distant mountain, shrouded from view in a blanket of clouds so that only the roots could be seen._

_Shigeru pressed on before the confused Genins could answer, analyzing each reaction from the Genin with cool ease._

"_I will place these two bells on the summit," Shigeru said, removing two polished silver bells that tinkled slightly as they swayed in the ANBU's grasp." And it will be your task to retrieve them by sundown, or you fail."_

_Minoru's eyes widened, and the stunned Genin stared out the window at the looming mountain wit ha sense of impending dread of the coming task. Rin's voice shook Minoru from his thoughts, as she hesitantly asked Shigeru the question that nagged at the back of Minoru's mind._

"_Sensei… There are only two bells, so does that mean that one of us fails, regardless?" Rin said, her head cocked slightly to the right and her blond ponytail brushing her shoulder._

_Shigeru smiled at the three Genin as he leaned against the green chalkboard, enjoying their naivety._

"_Yes, it does, Rin." Shigeru said, straightening up and walking slowly towards the door." Well, that's it for today, meet me tomorrow by the Memorial stone at dawn for the beginning of the exam."_

_As the ANBU slid open the sliding door and disappeared through it, Minoru's mind began to race in a panicked frenzy, broken by Shigeru's voice which floated through the open door in a tone of mocking concern._

"_Oh, and don't eat breakfast tomorrow morning… You'll puke."_

* * *

An audible _pop_ resounded through the calm, misty air snapping Minoru out of his thoughts; Minoru sat up, slightly disoriented, and scanned the area around the dark stone for the source of the noise. With a smile Minoru saw Shigeru chomping on his green stem and his arm on the shoulder of a slightly disoriented Ruigi, who was looking around with dazed wonder.

"Wow…" Ruigi said slowly, looking up at his sensei with awe." How'd we get here so fast?"

Shigeru's eyes narrowed as he tried to maintain his calm; he did _not_ have time to deal with Ruigi's shenanigans today; despite his resolution, a loud grumble rang through the air, and Ruigi looked around sheepishly.

"Sorry, I didn't eat breakfast this morning." Ruigi said, smiling in embarrassment and rubbing his stomach; Minoru groaned, he could agree with the pangs of hunger as well.

Shigeru growled, growing even more frustrated, but maintaining his calm, he silenced the boy with a draconian glare, turning to the other two Genins once Ruigi had quailed under his stare.

"Well, since we're all here…" Shigeru said, putting on a false smile as he looked over Minoru, who was sitting with his chin on his knee looking over at Rin with a glare.

"We might as well begin."

Minoru felt his stomach tighten instinctively with nerves; the test to see if he could attain his dream had come at long last.

Ever since Minoru could first remember, he had been an orphan: all alone, with no family to care for him, a ward of the state. He remembered wandering the streets late at night, watching the stars, wondering if he could see his parents among the constellations. There had been a time when Minoru wanted to die, to escape from his loneliness, but because of Naruto and all of the friends he had made, that time had passed. It had been hard growing up, not having anybody pick him up when he was down, nobody to wipe his tears away when he was sad; and he never wanted anybody else to have to go through what he had gone through again. The dark-haired boy looked down at the memorial stone upon which countless names of the dead shinobi who had died for the village Hidden in the Leaves were etched and gritted his teeth, filled with the resolve to make his dream a reality.

"Alright Sensei." Minoru said with a small grin, fixing the ANBU with a determined stare." Let's start already. I'm getting tired of waiting to win."

Rin snorted loudly.

"As if."

Despite himself, Shigeru almost smiled in earnest at their childlike innocence and enthusiasm. Calming himself, Shigeru took the stem out of his mouth and spun it around in his fingers.

"Alright then, if you're so eager…" Shigeru said quietly, putting his hands together in a handsign; suddenly his body began to ripple and disappear into the mist." Go…"

The forest was filled with a heavy silence, broken only by the scattered footfalls among the dew-covered branches of the tree. Minoru scowled into the mist as he fought to maintain his footing as he leapt nimbly from branch to branch, avoiding the twigs that stuck out of the trunks and trying to maintain his focus. Glancing up, Minoru could see the high peak of the mist-covered mountain, and exhaling vehemently, forced himself to keep his eyes on the path ahead.

Suddenly, as Minoru put his foot down on a damp, moss-covered branch, he felt his foot catch on something. twisting his body awkwardly, he lost his balance and fell off the branch.

"Damn!" Minoru cursed as he toppled head-over-heels towards the ground far below, trying desperately to slow his fall.

Suddenly, his instincts wrenched ahold of his body and his arm shot out towards a branch using the slick dew that coated the wood to maintain his momentum as he swung himself on top of it, launching off of the trunk of the tree onto a higher, thicker branch just as the one he had just leapt off of snapped with a resounding crack that rang through the forest. Panting slightly, Minoru looked at his dirt-covered hands in surprise; he hadn't known he could do that…

Minoru resumed his journey towards the base of the mountain, trying to clear his head as he remembered the challenges that were still ahead of him. High above him, Shigeru crouched on a branch, grinning widely, a thin, nearly invisible wire wedged between his teeth and held fast by his hands.

"Those reflexes... Maybe he's worth something after all." Shigeru said grinning through his teeth as he stood up, and vanished in a cloud of smoke with a _pop_ the echoed through the quiet, misty treetops.

* * *

Ruigi panted loudly, his arms hanging at his sides, before flopping resignedly to the ground. Behind him lay a large bear, grunting in agony as it attempted to move, but found its muscles had been rendered completely useless. Ruigi wiped his brow and stood up, shaking his head vigorously.

"Byakugan!" Ruigi said, holding a handsign in front of his eyes." Minoru may be my friend, but I gotta win this if I want Rin to go on a date with me!"

Ruigi's lilac eyes narrowed and became more focused as veins protruded from his temples; the small, long-haired Hyuuga sped off into the mass of trees before promptly getting caught in a thorn bush.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Ruigi whined as he writhed in an attempt to free himself, the Byakugan retracting as Ruigi lost concentration.

Breathing heavily and trying not to let his emotions overwhelm him, Ruigi tugged at his clothes before finally tearing free of the bush and half of his shirt, and falling to the ground once more. His lower lip shaking, Ruigi began at a slower pace, careful to avoid more thorn bushes that threatened to tear his shirt any more than it already was.

Shigeru watched the boy from a branch above in a daze, covering his eyes with his hand and shaking his head.

"_How did that idiot ever pass the exam? What kind of Shinobi gets caught in a thorn bush and cries about it after nearly killing a bear? What a weird kid."_ Shigeru thought with exasperation before shunshinning away with an audible _pop, _leaving a dark grey cloud of smoke.

* * *

Rin weaved agilely through the branches of the forest, evading a shuriken that whistled by her head, burying itself deeply into the bark of a tree with a dull thud. Rin vaulted onto a low branch, and whipped her head around to see her pursuer. Whoever it was knew how to use the deep mist to conceal themselves, as well as how to utilize kunai knives and shuriken. Leaping out of the way of a kunai, Rin launched herself into the air, spinning her body rapidly, throwing three shuriken into the depths of the mist before stopping her rotation and landing on a branch.

As Rin heard the shuriken whistle through the air, she paused for a fraction of a second before yanking on a thin string that glinted in the faint sunlight that was streaming through the clouds. Suddenly, Rin heard a grunt as the shuriken changed direction drastically and buried themselves in her target. Smiling confidently, she leaned against the trunk of the tree as Shigeru staggered into the clearing with three Shuriken embedded in his back. As Rin gasped, Shigeru's shadow clone dissipated in a cloud of smoke; Rin snorted, of course their Sensei was going to lay traps for them along the way, and it was foolish not to expect any more.

As Rin leapt to another branch to resume her way towards the mountain, she caught a glimpse of a shadowed figure crouching in a treetop high above her, his back to the steel-grey clouds.

"_Probably Sensei, keeping watch on me." _Rin thought smugly." _I _am_ the prodigy of my generation, after all_."

As he watched the blonde girl race through the branches, the figure growled with gravelly laughter, muffled by the grey mask that covered his mouth. As the man turned towards the peaceful Konoha, the village was only just beginning to stir in dawn's rays of light that pierced the blanket of clouds. The man slowly opened his eyes, the pure white orbs were flawless, save the Kanji for snake etched into the oculus.

* * *

**Thanks for reading the third chapter! Once again, give me your feedback in a review or feel free to PM me if you have any questions! **

**-Akuma out**


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